Friday, July 4, 2008
| This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. |
According to reports, the government of People’s Republic of China has stopped restricting access to the Chinese Wikipedia in some parts of the country starting on July 3.
The report originated on the Wikimedia Foundation’s mailing list quoting a website saying “Wikipedia Chinese version unblocked.” Wikinews has confirmed that the reports are accurate through discussion with people attempting to access Wikipedia from China.
Despite the report, there are still some issues with accessing the site according to readers of the site. Sources tell Wikinews that although the English version is unblocked, the Chinese version still remains blocked or hard to access in many parts of the country. This comes after the Chinese unblocking of the all other language variations of Wikipedia in April.
Ian A. Holton, who is an administrator on the English Wikipedia, has confirmed that the Chinese Wikipedia is accessible in the Liaoning Province, although users in Shanghai, Shenzhen and some in Beijing are still unable to access the site. The restriction in Beijing does not appear to cover the entire area: sources have told Wikinews the site can be accessed in many parts of Beijing.
There has been some doubt on whether Wikipedia will remain accessible after the Olympic games. Christiano Moreschi, another active contributor to the English Wikipedia, said that “I doubt this will last 5 minutes beyond the end of the closing ceremony of the Olympics.”
The International Olympic Committee warned China in April that it wanted the internet freely accessible for the entire duration of the Olympic Summer Games. Unrestricted access is guaranteed to the 30,000 reporters and media staff expected for the Olympics under Beijing’s ‘host city contract’.